Ice and snow removal machine

ABSTRACT

A machine for breaking up and removing compacted snow and ice utilizing a number of narrow disks placed side by side. The disks are mounted in pairs, each pair consisting of a breaker disk and a sweeper or pick up disk, individually spring-pressed downward. The breaker disks are designed to crush the snow or ice remaining on a road after plowing, and force the crushed snow or ice sideward, where it is picked up by the sweeper disks. A shoe immediately behind the disk assembly guides the snow onto a conveyor belt which ejects the snow toward the side of the road. The machine is mounted on, or towed by, a truck or other vehicle.

United States Patent [191 Davis [54] ICE AND SNOW REMOVAL MACHINE [76]Inventor: Richard P. Davis, Sanbornton, NH.

[22] Filed: Feb. 16, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 115,404

[111 3,736,28 [451 May 29,1973

Primary ExaminerErnest R. Purser Attorney-Thomas & Mrose 5 7] ABSTRACT Amachine for breaking up and removing compacted snow and ice utilizing anumber of narrow disks placed side by side. The disks are mounted inpairs, each pair consisting of a breaker disk and a sweeper or pick updisk, individually spring-pressed downward. The breaker disks aredesigned to crush the snow or ice remaining on a road after plowing, andforce the crushed snow or ice sidewarcl, where it is picked up by thesweeper disks. A shoe immediately behind the disk assembly guides thesnow onto a conveyor belt which ejects the snow toward the side of theroad. The machine is mounted on, or towed by, a truck or other vehicle.

8 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures Patented May 29, 1973 5 Sheets-Sheet l MdRDav Patented May 29, 1973 3,736,028

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Patented May 29, 1973 5 Sheet s-Sheet 5 7 ICE AND SNOW REMOVAL MACHINEThis invention relates to machines for removing snow and ice from roads,runways, and similar surfaces, and more particularly to a machine forremoving the residual compacted snow and ice which cannot be removed bya snow plow.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The usual straight snow plow blade, orrevolving helical blade, is a rigid piece extending from one side to theother of the plowing vehicle.- The blade has to be set- The principalobject of this invention. is to provide a machine which will penetrateand break upalayer of compacted snow or ice andcompletely remove itdownto the surface of a road,'without danger of damage to the road surfaceor the machine itselfsAnother object is to provide a machine whichautomatically conformsto an irregular surface or to a road of crownconstruction. Another object is to provide a machine which'is simple toconstruct and maintain, which can be used on the usual types of snowremoval vehicles, and which eliminates the expense of sandingandsalting.-Other objects, advantages, and novel features will be apparentfrom the following description.

SUMMARY The machine here describedutilizes a breaker and pick upassembly made up of a number of narrow disks mounted side by side andclose togetherhAlternate ones of the disks are breaker disks and theothers are sweeper, or pick up disks. The disks are mounted in pairs,each pair consisting of a breaker disk and a pick up disk. Each pair isindividually springpressed downward so that the assembly willaccommodate itself to an irregular surface. Immediately behindthebreaker assembly is a sloping shoe leading to a conveyor belt which runstransversely along the assembly and carries the swept up snow to oneside. A baffle is mounted behind the belt to keep the snow from fallingoff at the rear. The machine may be mounted on, or towed by, a truck,tractor, or other snow removal vehicle, and the breaker assembly may bemade up in various widths according to the width of the vehicle withwhich it is to be used.

DESCRIPTION OF- THE DRAWINGS- In the drawings illustrating theinvention:

FIG. 1 is atop plan view, partlybroken away, of an ice and snow removalmachine constructed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the'machine, with the baffle omitted forclarity;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the machine;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section taken along line 4 4 of FIG. 3; i

FIG. 5is'aperspective view of arm which supports a pair of the disks;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of a modified form of the disk support anddrive assembly;

FIG. 7is an enlarged fragmentary view taken in the region of the sweeperdisk of FIG. 6, with the breaker disk removed;

FIG. 8 is a cross-section taken along line 8 8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 7 illustrating anothermodification of the disk drive assembly;

FIG. 10 is a cross-section taken along line 10 10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged "fragmentary elevation illustrating amodification of the breaker disk assembly;

FIG. 12 is a cross-section taken along line 12 12 of FIG. 11;

FIGS. 13, 14, and 15 illustrate variations of the tread of the sweeperdisks; and

FIG. 16illustrates a variation of the breaker disk assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in FIGS. 1 through 5,the parts of the machine are mounted on a rectangular framework madeup:of bars 20,21, 22, and 23, and a cross-bar 24. It is understood thatthe framework is intended to be attached to a vehicle, for example,mounted on the rear of a truck which may carry an ordinary plow in fromfor removing deep snow, or towed by a vehicle. The machine may beweighted, if necessary, in any suitable way, to produce the downwardpressure required by the entire breaker assembly. A pair of verticalbars 25 and'26 support a drive shaft 27, which may be driven in anyconvenient manner, for example, by a belt and pulley 28, from the motorof the vehicle itself or a separate motor.

A number of gears 29 are secured to shaft 27 and driven :by' it. Thesegears mesh with gear tooth faced sweeper disks 30; Thevehicle moves inthe'direction of arrow 31 in FIG. 3, and gears 29 are driven in thedirection of arrows 32, driving the sweeper disks 30 in the direction ofarrow 33. Shaft 27 may be supported at intervals by braces 34, ifrequired by the width of the assembly. These are mounted on a baffle 35which extends transversely across the rear of the machine and issupported by bars 36' and 37 extending downward ,from'the framework. Aconveyor belt 38 is mounted in front of the baffle, and driven byany'suitable means (not shown) in the direction of arrows 39 in FIG. 2,assuming that the snow is to be discharged to the right side of theroad.- In a situation where left hand discharge of the snow is desired,the direction of the conveyor drive can be reversed.

A number of arms 41 are rotatably mounted on shaft 27. These armssupport'the sweeper'disks-30, and

breaker'disks 42, a sweeper'disk' and a breaker disk being mounted oneach arm; The arms are rotatable on shaft 27 independently of oneanother, so that each pair of breaker and sweeper disks is independentlymovable up and down. The whole breaker and sweeper disk assembly can beset very close to the surface which is to be cleaned of impacted snowand ice, without danger of damaging the surface. or the machine.

The detailed construction of an arm 41 is illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and5. The arm has an upwardly extending rod portion 41a which is receivedin a spring-pressed shock absorber unit 43 mounted on bar 24. A pin 41bserves as a shaft on which disk 30 is rotatably mounted. Disk 30 has anindented portion 300 in which an offset portion 41c of arm 41 isreceived. This ofiset portion carries a pin 41d on which the breakerdisk 42 is rotatably mounted.

The breaker and sweeper rolls are of a width in the order of one to twoinches. When the machine is in operation, the breaker rolls crush theresidual compacted snow and ice, and the sweeper rolls throw it backonto the conveyor belt, which carries it to the side of the road. Theindividual mounting of the pairs of breaker and sweeper disks allows thewhole assembly to be set very close to the road, or other surface to beswept, without danger of damage to the surface or the machine.

FIG. 6 illustrates a variation of the machine in which the framework,generally indicated by the numeral 45, supports, as in the previousexample, a baffle 35, a conveyor 38, and a shoe 40. The framework alsosupports a number of brackets 46 and a drive shaft 47, which is drivenby any suitable means and drives a belt and pulley 49. An arm 48, forsupporting a pair of breaker and sweeper disks, is rotatably mounted onshaft 47. The arm 48 is connected by a link 51 to a hydraulic unit 52mounted on the framework and adapted to apply yielding downward pressureto the arm. The arm supports a sweeper wheel assembly, generallyindicated by the numeral 54. The arm is attached to a stationary disk 55around which an internally gear toothed ring 56 revolves. Ring 56 mesheswith a gear 50 driven by the drive 49. The ring carries brush elements57 set into its outer surface. Alongside the sweeper wheel assembly ismounted a breaker disk 58. The position of the breaker disk is shown inFIG. 7 by the dot and dash line 58a.

Stationary disk 55 has an elongated vertical slot 59, in which a slide60 is mounted. The slide is secured by a back plate 61. Disk 58 has ashaft portion 58b which is rotatably mounted in a bearing 62 in slide60. The slide carries a lug 600 which is engaged by a piston rod 63driven by a hydraulic cylinder 64. A second lug 60b on the slide engagesa stop 65 mounted on disk 55. Piston 63 is shown in extended position inFIGS. 7 and 8. By retracting the piston, slide 60 can be moved downwardwith respect to disk 55. In the extreme down position, a lock member 67is moved in by a cylinder 66 to engage over lug 60b and lock the slidein place. When the slide is moved down, disk 58 is moved down withrespect to disk 55 and ring 56, raising the sweeper assembly above thelevel of the road surface 68. Under certain conditions, for example whenthe snow removal vehicle is being driven rapidly on a highway which hasbeen largely cleared, the breaker disks alone may serve to break up theresidual snow and ice and throw it onto the belt.

FIGS. 9 and illustrate an alternative way of driving the sweeper ring56. A breaker disk 69 has a shaft portion 69a rotatably mounted inbearing 62 on slide 55. Disk 69 has an internally toothed surface 69bwhich meshes with a gear 70 mounted on a shaft 72 on'disk 55 androtatable on the shaft. Gear 70 carries another gear 71 which mesheswith the toothed surface of ring 56. The ring is thus driven by therolling motion of disk 69 as the vehicle moves along the road surface.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate a breaker disk assembly made up of severalbreaker units, and also a sweeper disk equipped with a mechanism forejecting the snow picked up. A stationary disk 75 carries an offset armportion a which extends upward and is linked to a hydraulic or springpressure unit 76. A sweeper ring assembly 77 is rotatably mounted ondisk 75. A number of L-shaped ejector units are slidably mounted in ring77. Disk 75 has a flange 750, the edge of which engages the ejectorunits 78 along the sides and upper part of the ring and holds them outin the ring. At the bottom of the assembly, the flange has a slot 79 inwhich the lugs 78a of the ejector units ride as they pass around thebottom of the assembly. The units are thus raised as they approach theroad surface, allowing snow to enter the cavities 80 in which the unitsare mounted. As the units rise from the road surface, they are drivenoutward by the edge of flange 75b so that they eject the snow picked up.

Disk 75 carries a pair of studs 81 on which ball bearings 82 aremounted. The bearings are in rolling contact with a ring 83 which ispart of the breaker assembly. At the bottom, disk 75 carries a shaft 750on which ball bearings 84,85, and 86 are mounted. Bearing engages theinner surface of ring 83, so that the ring has three point rollingsuspension. Disks 87 and 88 are mounted on bearings 84 and 86,respectively. The disks and ring 83 together serve as a breaker diskassembly.

Pics. 13, 14, and 15 Show portions of the rims of sweeper disks 90, 91,and 92, respectively, having various treads. Disk 90 has centralrecesses 93 in its rim. Disk 91 has recesses 94 along the edges of itsrim. Disk 92 has a raised serpentine tread 95 on its rim.

FIG. 16 illustrates a breaker disk assembly similar to that of FIGS. 11and 12, composed of a central ring 96 having a double bevelled rim 96a,and a pair of disks 97 and 98 having right and left hand bevelled rims,so that the broken up ice and snow is directed sideward from under theassembly.

In all the variations of the machine here described, the breaker disks,or breaker disk assemblies as the case may be, are relatively narrow, onthe order of 1 to 2 inches. The sweeper disks are likewise narrow toallow close spacing of the breaker disks. The individual mounting of thepairs of disks allows the entire assembly to accommodate itself to thecontour of the road surface, and also allows the disks to penetrate tothe surface in uneven spots so that there are no patches of compactedsnow or ice left on the surface to cause hazardous driving conditions.The use of this machine eliminates the need for salting or sanding thesurface. When the machine is used on a vehicle which has a primaryremoval device, such as a plow, snow can be removed completely from theroad surface in one pass.

In the case of the breaker disk of FIG. 16, the ring 96 and disks 97 and98 may be faced with rubber thick enough and compressible enough so thattheir rims flatten out under pressure creating a sidewise force whichejects the snow to the side.

What is claimed is:

1. An ice and snow removal machine: an assembly of rotatable disksmounted in pairs in close side by'side arrangement, each pair beingindependently movable up a d down, one disk of each pair being a breakerdisk with a rim configuration adapted to break compacted ice and snow,and the other disk of each pair being a sweeper disk with a rimconfiguration adapted to sweep up loose ice and snow; means foryieldably urging each pair downward; and means for driving said sweeperdisks with a rotary motion.

2. An ice and snow removal machine as described in claim 1, said machineincluding a drive shaft, a number of arms rotatably mounted on saiddrive shaft, each of said pairs being mounted on one of said arms, and anumber of gears secured to said shaft and constituting said means fordriving said sweeper disks, said sweeper disks having toothed rimsmeshing with said gears.

3. An ice and snow removal machine as described in claim 1, said machineincluding a shaft, a number of arms rotatably mounted on said shaft,each sweeper disk comprising an internal disk fixed to one of said armsand a rotatable ring surrounding said internal disk, the breaker disk ofeach pair being rotatably mounted on the internal disk and verticallyslidable thereon, and each pair including means for selectivelypositioning its breaker disk with respect to its sweeper disk.

4. An ice and snow removal machine as described in claim 1, each of saidbreaker disks comprising a plural- 6 ity of individually rotatablemembers.

5. An ice and snow removal machine as described in claim 1, each of saidsweeper disks having brush members mounted in its rim.

6. An ice and snow removal machine as described in claim 1, each of saidsweeper disks having a rim provided with recesses and snow ejectionmembers movably mounted in said recesses and means for driving saidmembers in and out of said recesses.

7. An ice and snow removal machine as described in claim 1, each of saidsweeper disks having a rim rpovided with raised and recessed portions.

8. An ice and snow removal machine as described in claim 1, having ashoe partially underlying said assembly, a conveyor belt disposed alongsaid shoe and laterally movable along said assembly, and a baffleextending laterally of said assembly alongside said belt.

1. An ice and snow removal machine: an assembly of rotatable disksmounted in pairs in close side by side arrangement, each pair beingindependently movable up a d down, one disk of each pair being a breakerdisk with a rim configuration adapted to break compacted ice and snow,and the other disk of each pair being a sweeper disk with a rimconfiguration adapted to sweep up loose ice and snow; means foryieldably urging each pair downward; and means for driving said sweeperdisks with a rotary motion.
 2. An ice and snow removal machine asdescribed in claim 1, said machine including a drive shaft, a number ofarms rotatably mounted on said drive shaft, each of said pairs beingmounted on one of said arms, and a number of gears secured to said shaftand constituting said means for driving said sweeper disks, said sweeperdisks having toothed rims meshing with said gears.
 3. An ice and snowremoval machine as described in claim 1, said machine including a shaft,a number of arms rotatably mounted on said shaft, each sweeper diskcomprising an internal disk fixed to one of said arms and a rotatablering surrounding said internal disk, the breaker disk of each pair beingrotatably mounted on the internal disk and vertically slidable thereon,and each pair including means for selectively positioning its breakerdisk with respect to its sweeper disk.
 4. An ice and snow removalmachine as described in claim 1, each of said breaker disks comprising aplurality of individually rotatable members.
 5. An ice and snow removalmachine as described in claim 1, each of said sweeper disks having brushmembers mounted in its rim.
 6. An ice and snow removal machine asdescribed in claim 1, each of said sweeper disks having a rim providedwith recesses and snow ejection members movably mounted in said recessesand means for driving said members in and out of said recesses.
 7. Anice and snow removal machine as described in claim 1, each of saidsweeper disks having a rim rpovided with raised and recessed portions.8. An ice and snow removal machine as described in claim 1, having ashoe partially underlying said assembly, a conveyor belt disposeD alongsaid shoe and laterally movable along said assembly, and a baffleextending laterally of said assembly alongside said belt.